North Bergen cops arrest two Cliffside Park men in home invasion that terrorized family

NORTH BERGEN -- A man tired of waiting for a "friend" to pay a debt decided to take matters into his own hands Friday when he forcibly entered the man's home, assaulted two girls, 7 and 13, and threatened to kill the family, cops said.

James "Nasty" Pellet, 20, of Cliffside Park, was arrested early Saturday morning, said Lt. Frank Cannella.

Police say Pellet used a metal baseball bat to smash the front door and enter the home on the 6700 block of Smith Avenue at 5:30 p.m. Friday. The two girls confronted Pellet, who struck the 7-year-old in the face with his hand and kicked the 13-year-old in the thigh, reports said.

When he didn't find the man he was looking for, he told the man's 47-year-old mother that he wanted his money or he would "kill her family," and then grabbed a cell phone from her.

The two girls, the woman and an 18-year-old relative in the home at the time succeeded in pushing Pellet out of the house, said reports.

Pellet fled in a car driven by another man, but inadvertently left behind a sneaker he had been wearing. Police recovered the sneaker and sent it to the State Police lab in Hamilton for DNA analysis, Cannella said.

The victims were taken to police headquarters and identified Daniel Bonastia, 21, of Cliffside Park, as the driver of the vehicle from a gallery of photos; and upon further investigation, police identified Pellet, who was also identified by the victims, officials said.

Pellet was arrested in his Cliffside Park home at approximately 2:30 a.m. Saturday. Bonastia turned himself in to Cliffside Park police Saturday evening and he was turned over to North Bergen police to be processed.

Pellet and Bonastia were charged with burglary, robbery, criminal mischief, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon, terroristic threats and three counts of simple assault. Bail for both was set at $25,000 and both were brought to Hudson County jail in Kearny.